news & blog

Nov 2016

Over the Rainbow

Clouds and other meteorological phenomena take centre stage at the Musée du Cristal Saint-Louis, for a celebration of the poetry of weather. Devised by 49 Nord 6 Est – FRAC Lorraine, ‘Over the Rainbow’ presents an iconoclastic weather report, de-mythologising the contemporary art scene with a fresh, cross-disciplinary approach.

49 Nord 6 Est – FRAC Lorraine presents its second exhibition at La Grande Place, as the guest institution of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès. Continuing the first show’s celestial theme, ‘Over the Rainbow’ explores the poetry of meteorology, deliberately ignoring the climatologists’ alarm bells to focus on creative artworks. ‘There is an urgent need for joyous creativity and dreams, right now,’ says Béatrice Josse, curator of the exhibition.

This resolutely positive approach draws on the perspectives of scientists, artists, amateurs and artisans, to reveal the secrets of our weather. At the heart of the Musée du Cristal, Lorraine artist Benoît Billotte continues his Sun line, traced in the first exhibition, while Yona Friedman and young Chinese artists Jingfang Hao & Lingjie Wang (based in nearby Mulhouse) work with a cloud and rainbow respectively.

Accompanying the artists’ work, ‘Over the Rainbow’ features items on exceptional loan from the archives of Météo-France, including remarkable watercolour plates by André des Gachons, painted between 1913 and 1951, representing the sky and cloudscapes at different times of day. Technology and artisanship come together in a theodolite from 1935, used to measure the height of clouds, and a blown-glass Christmas bauble in the form of a cumulus, from the Centre international d’art verrier in Meisenthal. A series of images of Épinal punctuates this unstinting dialogue between technology, art and artisanship, beneath the skies of the French department of Moselle.

Events

La Grande Place / Musée du Cristal Saint-Louis

Rue Coëtlosquet 57620 Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche, France

Daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesday

Information: +33 3 87 06 40 04

La Grande Place /Cristal Saint-Louis Museum, Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche, France : from 15/12/2016 to 22/05/2017

Team

Curator : Béatrice Josse

Artists from the 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine collection, Metz: Benoît Billotte, Yona Friedman

Guest artists: Jingfang Hao et Lingjie Wang

Partners: Archives Météo-France ; Centre international d’art verrier, Meisenthal ; Musée de l’Image, Épinal

Oct 2016

ArtReview Asia Xiàn Chǎng, West Bund Art & Design 2016

West Bund Art & Design has launched a special exhibition program, ArtReview Asia Xiàn Chǎng. Situated in public areas both inside and outside the fair, the program, which takes the form of a series of single-artwork presentations, will feature works by both Asian and international artists, operating in a variety of media, including large-scale sculpture, installation, moving image and performance. Ultimately it aims to present an overview of the most urgent and cutting-edge work in the field of art.

XIÀN CHǍNG: THE SCENE (OF A CRIME, ACCIDENT, ETC); (ON) THE SPOT; (AT) THE SITE

ArtReview Asia Xiàn Chǎng is curated for West Bund Art & Design by ArtReview Asia. The curatorial concept of the program, which debuts this November, originates in the Chinese characters for ‘xiàn’ and ‘chǎng’, which together mean the scene (of a crime, accident, etc); (on) the spot; (at) the site. The artworks on show will explore how context provides a contemporary artwork with added significance or validity – and how the ‘contemporary’ aspect of contemporary art is as much about space or place as it is about time. Artists showing at ArtReview Asia Xiàn Chǎng are invited to play with notions of context, in all four dimensions of space–time, and its ability to bring about meaning, both intended and unexpected, in their work.

ArtReview Asia Xiàn Chǎng is not only an extension of the magazine’s content, creation and ideas; but is a brand-new attempt to apply and integrate its initiatives within the diverse reality of Asia.

West Bund Art & Design will also offer a special prize for ArtReview Asia Xiàn Chǎng, for which a committee of invited curators will select the best work within the program. The list of jurors, as well as the final winner will be announced in November 2016.

Xiàn Chǎng will feature the following artists :

Jun 2016

Present Participle Ⅲ

The sun of tomorrow is always brand-new. “Present Participle Ⅲ” gathers several artists that have been featured and collaborated by M Art Center, showing their latest works and progress in a natural presentation. These works are shown in a variety of media, painting, photography, sculpture, installation, woodcut, paper work, etc., directly or indirectly demonstrating the experience of being steady, awakening, exploring and going beyond oneself that every artist goes through. They are in simple words, but showing complicated messages. To artists, art creation is considered equally as breathing, as it is not only the expression of the mind and the heart, but also the process of consistent self-denial, self-fulfillment and innovation. Either as calm reflections or passionate pursuits, a temporary rest or a serious announcement, here are the recent statements that the artists want to make.

see:
http://www.m-artcenter.com/en/exposition/present_participle/6663/

Apr 2016

Dark Dreaming, in the land of earthly stars

Rêve d’obscur (‘Dark dreaming’) opens the second season organised by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès at La Grande Place/musée du cristal Saint-Louis with a guest institution from the Lorraine region: in this case 49 Nord 6 Est-Frac Lorraine. Rêve d’obscur explores the hidden and impalpable: the distant, imaginary, mysterious realm of stars.

Part hypothesis, part fantasy, Rêve d’obscur encompasses projections of the imagination and unattainable realms. Invited by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès to curate a season of three shows at La Grande Place/musée du cristal Saint-Louis, 49 Nord 6 Est-Frac Lorraine (the Lorraine regional art fund) draws on its own collections to create a speculative exhibition devoted to the ‘imagination and fictive potential of unknown lands, the dark side of the moon, or distant planets’.

The top floor of La Grande Place/musée du cristal Saint-Louis presents graphic works, photographs and sculptures that resonate with geographic and scientific data, to poetic effect. Maps are rendered virtually opaque (Neal Beggs), the sun is held in the crook of an arm (Barbara and Michael Leisgen), a mantra is transcribed on the trunk of a tree (Charwei Tsai): each scenario presents an intangible ‘dream of darkness’ in counterpoint to the dazzling brilliance of the lead crystal blown in the Saint-Louis workshops.

Lorraine artist Benoît Billotte has created a new work specially for this latest season of exhibitions, which also includes a ‘human library’. Steered by two artists from the French department of Moselle, with the support of 49 Nord 6 Est-Frac Lorraine, this exploratory work records artisans from workshops across the region, including the cristallerie Saint-Louis, describing their lives and their relationship to the objects they make, including some branded as ‘unmentionable’. These oral narratives bring to life the interaction between La Grande Place and its surrounding region.

Nov 2015

Nonfigurative, the movement of narration

Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum, also known as M21, unveiled “Nonfigurative” Exhibition on November 20 to welcome its first anniversary. Showing 67 pieces of painting, video and photograph works created by 58 Chinese artists around the world, the exhibition involved creations spanning over 30 years, hence a feast of art that collects masterpieces of different periods.
According to Deputy Director Li Feng of M21, they spent nearly a year in preparing for the exhibition, including early masterpieces of established artists and new creations of young ones. In the way of expression, a nonfigurative exhibition is aimed at deconstructing the traditional narrative mode and encouraging artists to break through the constraints of form and content, thus fully exerting their imagination for creation.

As for paintings, there’s an oil painting “Camellia amid the War” showing a female soldier holding a camellia during Sino-Vietnamese War to limelight the humanity despite the warring environment. The paintings Fission, Ultimate State and The Cross, respectively created by Xu Lei, Meng Luding and Gu Liming during 1980s, not only explore abstract painting for visual expression but try different types painting materials, such as tea, rice paper and medicinal materials, thus enlarging the overall scope of painting. And among many new-media works, the video artwork “The Face” by Li Yongbin revolves around showing one’s own appearance to seek the possible forms of self-reflection.

Reports say that the exhibition will last till February 28 next year, opened free to the public.

Sep 2015

AD Style on Westbund Art and Design Exhibition

The West Bund Art & Design fair is the first large-scale international art and design fair in China, and it has attracted top galleries from around the world. It took place at West Bund Art Center on the Xuhui Waterfront from 8–13 September 2015 and building on last year’s first year achievements, the aim is to propel contemporary visual art in China even further.

Co-organised by Shanghai West Bund Development Group Co., and the renowned artist Zhou Tiehai, the international fair West Bund Art & Design is the first of its type in China. The art fair designates West Bund Art Center, which was transformed from a workshop of the former Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, as its site. The Fair aims to create a second-to‐none art platform, hosting galleries, design agencies, existing and new collectors, and art lovers to enjoy art. The design component of the fair was held throughout the West Bund Cultural Corridor and included Atelier Deshaus, Archi-Union, Atelier Z+, Atelier GOM, One Design Inc., TM Studio and UNDEF/NE.

A background: The West Bund initiative is a cluster of five art centres and museums with two more on the way. It started with a five-year plan in 2010 to open 3,500 museums in China by 2015, but the mission was reached in just half the time. By 2012 there were already 3,866 museums in the country and naturally Shanghai, with its wealth of industrial buildings and developers eager to support culture as a marketing tool, were in the forefront. The West Bund area, once an industrial zone, includes a number of rehabilitated industrial structures, including a coal conveying platform (Long Museum West Bund), airplane hangars (West Bund Art Center and YUZ Museum) and giant oil tanks (The Oil Tank Art and Performance Center, planned to open in 2017) – all preserved to showcase the city’s cultural growth.

Walking around the fair, we found quite a lot of galleries that we recognise from Hong Kong, such as Pearl Lam Fine Arts Gallery, White Cube, Ben Brown Fine Arts & Platform China. However, we shall focus on, and show you some images from, some of the mainland galleries from Shanghai and Beijing at the fair.

2015年9月8日-13日，备受瞩目的2015西岸艺术与设计博览会如约而至，将在位于上海徐汇滨江龙腾大道2555号的西岸艺术中心盛大开幕。作为国内首个融合了顶尖当代艺术与设计的国际性大型博览会，2015西岸艺术与设计博览会关注当下最重要和活跃的当代艺术家及其作品，精选全球30余家口碑与实力俱佳的国内外优秀画廊与设计机构参展，旨在传达“艺术引领生活，设计走进生活”的博览会理念。

《安邸AD》作为2015西岸艺术与设计博览会的战略合作家居设计媒体，继去年“《安邸AD》艺术设计论坛”的成功推出之后，今年将携两个项目重磅亮相2015西岸艺术与设计博览会，和到场观众进行更加深入地艺术交流。

在9月8日-13日的六天展期中，《安邸AD》携手施勇共同打造ART of LIVING“也是一种态度”收藏展。本次展览汇集艺术精英丁乙、王令杰+郝经芳、王兴伟、王思顺、贝歇尔夫妇、双飞小组、孙逊、老者步加希金、曲丰国、李明、刘月、何岸、陆垒、林科+杨俊岭、张恩利、郑焕、荒木经维、郭洪蔚、胡子、胡柳、赵洋、洪磊、徐震、柴一皿、索-勒维特、黄芳翎+金锋、蔡东东、廖国核等代表作品，诠释艺术品与家居之间的完美平衡。

收藏并非金钱的简单堆砌，而是一种对生活的见解和态度。收藏家的兴趣爱好、风格、创造力全在这一个家里，对材料，光线，色彩以及对自己生活习惯的独特理解，成为了一种态度，自己的态度。我们希望借此展览，将“家”这个艺术家们另一份为自己、为生活所进行的创作呈现于观众眼前，通过收藏家的态度和视角，去传递和表达艺术与生活之间，一直意义深远的关系。